New Zealand appears to be embracing Kim DotCom and the service he's creating to replace MegaUpload.

DotCom announced on Twitter that his new cloud-storage service will use a New Zealand-based domain: Mega.co.nz. DotCom attempted to use a domain name from the West African country of Gabon, but that country's administration last week ordered that the domain, Me.ga, be suspended.

DotCom didn't waste time in finding a new domain name.

"New Zealand will be the home of our new website: Mega.co.nz," DotCom wrote, adding that the site will operate within the law. He previously said that the new service will launch in January.

Nearly a year ago, the United States indicted DotCom and six others connected to MegaUpload for allegedly operating the service as a criminal enterprise. They accused the defendants of encouraging people to store pirated movies, music, and other media in MegaUpload's cloud locker service. DotCom, who resides in New Zealand, and at least five other defendants were arrested.

U.S. officials are now trying to extradite the defendants. Meanwhile, DotCom is fighting back. His plan to create a successor site to MegaUpload is just one of the ways he has defied U.S. and copyright owners. U.S. officials have noted in court documents that when DotCom was asking for bail, he promised under oath not to build or recreate MegaUpload.

His lawyers say that DotCom has a right to make a living and that the new service is completely legal. DotCom has won several important court victories, not the least of which was showing that New Zealand police spied on him illegally, leading the country's prime minister to issue DotCom an apology.

Many in New Zealand have rallied around DotCom, in part to protest the perception that their leaders are U.S. lackeys.

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Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. Based in New York, Sandoval is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at @sandoCNET.
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